We were lucky to catch up with RAQS recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, RAQS thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I have loved singing ever since I was a little kid, I always wanted to be a rockstar, I just never thought that it was something that was ever actually possible. Until a family member heard me sing and pushed me to take that leap and try it out for real. Thats when I started taking vocal lessons, meeting people in the industry and just getting a better understanding how the music industry worked, made me realize that I could actually do this as a professional career path. it took me a while to figure out the type of sound and music I wanted to make and also figure out who I was as an artist but through trial and error I was able to find myself through music.

RAQS, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a punk pop singer/songwriter from Toronto, Canada. I draw a lot of my inspiration from real life experiences and perceptions of the world to deliver honest and unapologetic lyrics. I am influenced by early 2000’s punk pop bands creating a sound that is both powerful and relatable. As an artist I think it’s extremely important to be as authentic and real as possible and i make sure that not only my music showcases that but also myself as a brand. I love the idea of building a community based around amazing music and meeting like minded people who share the love of pop punk music.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

for me, the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is making honest music. There’s no better feeling than leaving the studio after creating what feels like the best song you’ve ever written. knowing that I get to wake up every morning and create great music with amazing people really fills my heart. As an artist who writes about my own experiences, being able to take something difficult that happened to me and turn it into something beautiful or empowering or powerful makes it all worth while. It also makes me feel an unbelievable sense of gratitude and joy to know that other people relate to my stories. It incredibly heartwarming to know that I can make people feel like they’re not alone through my music and that my music makes other people feel something too.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Honestly, i have struggled with building an audience on social media. I have tried to continuously posting content, paid ads, etc. and although it’s been helpful obviously the key is to staying consistent. It’s easy for artists to get down when they dont see their analytics increase or their followers not getting any higher. I like creating goals for myself. My goal for this year is to just keep pushing through. Continue to create content, continue posting even if it doesn’t reach the amount of likes, or comments or views that I expect and to just keep pushing forward and focus on becoming a better artist and continue to grow as an artist. At the end of the day, for me personally, it isn’t about that, its about creating music that people can relate to and if I keep pushing through, eventually the right people will come along and thats where the community will grow bigger and bigger and the right audience will come around.

Contact Info:

• Website: itsrraqs.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/itsrraqs
• Facebook: Facebook.com/@itsrraqs
• Youtube: YouTube.com/itsrraqs

Image Credits
Daniel Dorta Alyssa Lancaster